she ultimately was elected to the d.c. city council. and she took me under her wing as a young aspiring lawyer at that time and she told me about a wonderful organization, club, the women's democratic club. and it was through poly that i first learned about this institution and first saw this beautiful beautiful building. and so all of those memories came back to me and make it especially a special time to get the chance to talk to you about women and this election. and -- ok. so i must also say in the 40 plus years that i have really both been in washington and followed the political scene at least as an observer, i have never seen the emphasis that we have seen in this election on women and the public acknowledgment of the pivotal role that women play in this election season. it is just been extraordinary. and this morning as i had the tv on getting ready to go to work, one of the commentators literally said it's women women women women. i thought, there's my theme. it's women women women women. after all, when you think about it, it